Amp start up not to good.....

[Structo]

yes make sure the V1 820 ohm cathode resistor is well grounded.
Also make sure it is indeed an 820 and not a 8.2K.

[guitarmike2107]

Not to nit pick but it appears that the IEC ground wire is going to a transformer screw. Big NO NO. Always take it to its' own dedicated screw by itself. That is all.

I've sometimes done this and seen it done many times. Why is it so bad?

To add to the other response about vibration, it’s also to prevent that connection ever having to be undone when replacing the Power transformer or other parts and accidentally not been put back correctly.

In Europe it is a CE mark requirement and is meant to be labelled and AFAIK it is a UL standard recommendation too.

[daydreamer]

My traynor darkhorse has the ground sharing the same screw as the PT which was then over tightened from the outside (in Quality control I guess!), spun on itself, and broke most of the ground wire loose. If it hadn't been for the hum making me go looking for answers, it wouldn't have been very safe at all with only a thread of ground wire intact.

[Structo]

There ya go.

That is strange a commercial amp would have the earth connection on the PT bolt.

It should have it's own dedicated bolt.
And another tip is to leave the wire longer than the others, in the event the wires are pulled from the amp, the ground would be the last to pull free.

In the case of a IEC connector, that is not an issue.

With an IEC I just place the screw close to the connector for a short green wire run.

[ChrisM]

There ya go.

That is strange a commercial amp would have the earth connection on the PT bolt.

It should have it's own dedicated bolt.
And another tip is to leave the wire longer than the others, in the event the wires are pulled from the amp, the ground would be the last to pull free.

In the case of a IEC connector, that is not an issue.

With an IEC I just place the screw close to the connector for a short green wire run.

Good points.

Also if that IEC ground wire is not green, expect horrid tone.

[Structo]

[playonit]

Thanks guys...... My issue with the high cathode voltage on V1 ended up being the 820 resistor. I changed it out and my cathode voltage dropped from 10.3v to 1.9v... when that happened my voltage on the 1&6 pin dropped from an initial reading of 295v to 134.5v (just where it should be) …Although I changed the resistor out, I measured the one I removed and it came out just a tad below the 820 rating... I re-installed the original resistor and the voltages look good...I suspect a bad solder joint???
The amp has turned out very quiet which is surprising after the issues. I have learned/learning a lot by having these issues. On my first three builds I was very fortunate and lucky to not have any issues other than a couple of wires that needed to be moved to quell some hum, my first 5e7 and a DC30 and a JTM45… So I believe having these issues was something that needed to happen to get me thinking with some great help from you guys... There are two more issues to work out my voltage chart says there should be 51v on v3 pin 8 but I am only getting 9.6v there… And at about 12 o’clock on my presence pot I am getting a real weird noise … which I think will go away after I find a different ground method…
BTW…. the amp sounds great and definitely has a different character than my first 5e7 build… why? I don’t have a clue.. but my guess would be the Magnetic Components transformers

I just really want to thank those of you who offered advice and tips and links.. I feel Like I am coming out of this experience a rich man….. Thank You!!!!!!!

[Bob-I]

Thanks guys...... My issue with the high cathode voltage on V1 ended up being the 820 resistor. I changed it out and my cathode voltage dropped from 10.3v to 1.9v... when that happened my voltage on the 1&6 pin dropped from an initial reading of 295v to 134.5v (just where it should be) …Although I changed the resistor out, I measured the one I removed and it came out just a tad below the 820 rating... I re-installed the original resistor and the voltages look good...I suspect a bad solder joint???

Yep, most likely a bad solder joint. It's best to measure resistance from the tube pin to the chassis ground or from the tube pin to the resistor leg.

There are two more issues to work out my voltage chart says there should be 51v on v3 pin 8 but I am only getting 9.6v there… And at about 12 o’clock on my presence pot I am getting a real weird noise … which I think will go away after I find a different ground method…

Sounds like another solder joint or resistor issue. Get this straightened out and the presence control issue will most likely be fixed too.

BTW…. the amp sounds great and definitely has a different character than my first 5e7 build… why? I don’t have a clue.. but my guess would be the Magnetic Components transformers

Could be the v3 voltage issue as too. You could have some oscillation or clipping going on.

I just really want to thank those of you who offered advice and tips and links.. I feel Like I am coming out of this experience a rich man….. Thank You!!!!!!!

You're welcome. Keep asking questions and reading, you're addicted now so you have no choice but to learn.

[KT66]

Good job Playonit on the build and following the troubleshooting advice. Like Bob said, you should nail down the voltage discrepancy in the PI.

A couple of other thoughts :

I see that your ground buss goes all the way over to the presence pot - is it connected there ? It shouldn't be if it is, I would clip it shorter so it stops at the Bass pot.

The best place to ground the presence cap would be at the location you grounded the output jacks at.

As for the output jacks, After looking at the layout I can see why you made the mistake of wiring them in reverse. You should fix that if you haven't already. Here is a nifty way of doing it " HiWatt style" as shown by Mark Huss ( look at the last pic on the bottom of the page : http://mhuss.com/SmallBox/page4.html

[playonit]

Good job Playonit on the build and following the troubleshooting advice. Like Bob said, you should nail down the voltage discrepancy in the PI.

A couple of other thoughts :

I see that your ground buss goes all the way over to the presence pot - is it connected there ? It shouldn't be if it is, I would clip it shorter so it stops at the Bass pot.

The best place to ground the presence cap would be at the location you grounded the output jacks at.

As for the output jacks, After looking at the layout I can see why you made the mistake of wiring them in reverse. You should fix that if you haven't already. Here is a nifty way of doing it " HiWatt style" as shown by Mark Huss ( look at the last pic on the bottom of the page : http://mhuss.com/SmallBox/page4.html

Thanks... I ended up removing the the buss altogether and re-doing it to match the layout.. it really helped some noise issues when I removed it?? the presence pot is on it's own ground but not to the area of the input grounds I will try that and right now it is hooked up to a tab that is on a bolt between the board standoff and chassis... I also have yet to re-do my power grounds off the PT and IEC socket as suggested earlier in this thread. I will take care of those today....